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Tech Stack Signal

The Tech Stack Signal helps you identify which technologies a company is using so you can target accounts more effectively. This article explains how UserGems detects tech stack information, how you can customize what you track, and where this data can be used in your workflows.

What the Tech Stack Signal Does

The Tech Stack Signal highlights whether a company is using specific technologies you care about. Customers typically use it to:

  • Prioritize ICP accounts that use (or avoid) certain tools
  • Identify net-new accounts that match their ideal tech ecosystem
  • Create more relevant messaging for outreach and campaigns

You can create one or more Tech Stack Signals and tailor them to the technologies that matter to your business.

How UserGems Identifies a Company’s Tech Stack

UserGems collects tech stack information using several independent sources. This ensures broad coverage and limits false positives.

Here are the types of checks we perform:

1. Job Posting Analysis

We scan public job postings for direct mentions of technologies.
Example: “You will work with Marketo” or “Experience with Salesforce required” 

2. Website Snippet Detection

We check the company’s website for installed JavaScript snippets.
Example: If a HubSpot tracking snippet is installed, we flag HubSpot as part of the stack.

3. Additional Verified Sources

We use a small number of trusted external sources when our own system cannot confidently determine the technology.

Accuracy Safeguards

Our algorithms are designed to prevent inaccurate matches. For example, if a job posting lists multiple tools as examples (such as “familiar with Salesloft or Outreach”), we avoid marking both tools as part of the company’s verified stack unless we can confirm usage from other sources.

What Types of Technologies Can Be Tracked?

UserGems can track a wide range of tools across categories like:

  • CRM
  • Marketing automation
  • ERP systems (for example, we currently detect SAP but not all sub-tools)
  • HR and people operations tools (for example, HiBob)
  • E-commerce platforms
  • Developer and data tools

If you want to track a specific technology and it doesn’t currently exist, simply provide the name to your CSM. We can add it if our system can support accurate detection.

Note: UserGems detects tools at the product level, not at the module level.
Example: We can detect Salesforce, but not whether a company uses Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, or Marketing Cloud.

Creating and Customizing a Tech Stack Signal

You can configure the Tech Stack Signal to highlight only the technologies relevant to your go-to-market strategy.

To configure Tech Stack Signal

  1. Go to Signals in your workspace.
  2. Activate the signal (if you haven’t already) 
  3. Configure the signal 
    1. Limit the number of companies you want to find (optional) 
    2. Apply an ICP (optional) 
  4. Define tech stack items (see example below) 
  5. Create sub-signals. This creates a “sub-signal” for each technology or group of technologies. These sub-signals can be used in filtering, Gem-E messaging, or viewable in co-pilot by your reps
  6. Save the signal.

Using Tech Stack Signals in Audience Builder

You can use the Tech Stack Signal inside Audience Builder to create targeted lists. Common examples include:

  • “Companies in our ICP that use Shopify”
  • “Target accounts OR ICP accounts that also use our competitive technology”

Using Tech Stack Signals for Net-New Account & Contact Discovery

If you want UserGems to surface new accounts that match your tech criteria:

  1. Go to Settings →  Track Companies.
  2. Go to the Tech Stack signal in the Companies List 
  3. Select the Gear Icon
  4. Select the “Search for Prospects” tab
  5. Define if you’d like to search for (1) current VS new prospects (2) persona (3) how often to search for prospects at these accounts
  6. Press “Save” 

UserGems will highlight companies that match your tech filters and have the right persona to target.

How to Use Tech Stack Signal in Messaging

There are multiple places where you can tell Gem-E how to use signals in messaging – best practice is to feed Gem-E instructions at the Global Level so that it impacts all your campaigns.

The Tech Stack Signal is most effective when it helps reps create messaging that feels informed and relevant. It should support the outreach, not be the headline of the message. Here are some examples: 

1. Do not lead with “I saw you use X.”
 This comes across as generic and does not add value.
Instead, use the tech reference to show that you understand how their team already works.

2. Connect the tech to workflow fit.
 Examples:

  • “Since your reps already work in Salesforce and Outreach, UserGems shows up directly where they spend their day. No extra tool to learn.”

3. Keep tech references subtle and purposeful.
 A good outbound pattern is:

“Because your team is already using [TOOL], UserGems helps you [OUTCOME] without changing how your reps operate.”

This shows effort and relevance without over-relying on the signal.

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